Contents
Annie Jump Cannon
Creating the stellar classification sequence used to organise stars by their spectra.
Spectral catalogue · Henry Draper Catalogue
- Born
- 11 December 1863
- Birthplace
- Dover, United States
- Died
- 13 April 1941
More people
Annie Jump Cannon
Annie Jump Cannon was an American astronomer whose patient examination of photographic spectra helped bring order to enormous star catalogues.
Early life
Delaware
Learned constellations from her mother.
Wellesley
Studied physics and astronomy, graduating in 1884.
Career
- 1894
Teaching
Returned to Wellesley as a physics assistant.
- 1896
Harvard Observatory
Joined the team analysing stellar photographs.
- 1938
Formal appointment
Became Harvard’s William C. Bond Astronomer.
Contributions
Spectral catalogue
Published an early catalogue using her classification work.
Henry Draper Catalogue
Classified stars for the major published catalogue.
International standard
Her classification sequence was adopted by the International Astronomical Union.
Beyond the lab
Hearing
Worked through much of her career with severe hearing loss.
Women’s advancement
Supported women’s suffrage and opportunities in astronomy.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Photo: New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
